Dispute

Bái Xī Wén's words were extremely discourteous. He also harbored grave suspicions about Liu Zhiwei's purpose in summoning Duàn Yì, leaving everyone rather baffled.

But while others did not know, Bái Xī Wén himself knew perfectly well.

Ever since Duàn Yì had come up the mountain, although he had taught him profound martial arts, he had never relaxed his vigilance for even a moment. He feared that Duàn Yì might harm the Golden Cauldron Sect, so he knew every detail of Duàn Yì's movements.

In his view, Liu Zhiwei had summoned Duàn Yì not because he truly believed Duàn Yì was Ruan Dong's murderer. More likely, because Duàn Yì had defeated Ruan Dong with the sword, he wanted to seize the chance to teach him a lesson and vent his anger—for Ruan Dong's sake, and for his own.

This also involved the tangled relationships among the current upper ranks of the Golden Cauldron Sect, matters hardly fit to be spoken of to outsiders.

In any case, upon seeing Bái Xī Wén, the great stone weighing on Duàn Yì's heart finally dropped to the ground. He said no more and simply stood behind Bái Xī Wén, signaling his compliance...

Golden Cauldron Hall stood atop the central peak. Yellow-clad outer disciples stood guard with swords in hand on either side of the bluestone steps, their gazes fixed straight ahead, their bodies upright as pines.

The main hall covered nearly three hundred square meters. Its upturned eaves soared outward, while its interior possessed a solemn grandeur that inspired awe.

The moment Bái Xī Wén and his group entered Golden Cauldron Hall, they heard fierce arguing. Looking over, they saw two middle-aged men quarreling.

One wore a magnificent purple robe and sat upright in a chair on the northern side of the hall. Though his features were ordinary, his skin was smooth with a faint jade-like sheen, and he carried great authority. Even while speaking, he was unhurried and measured, without the slightest sign of becoming red-faced.

The other sat beside the man in purple. He was thin, with swollen bags beneath his eyes, and looked rather unremarkable. Yet he possessed an especially thick and frightening pair of hands. He was also the one arguing with great agitation.

Three more middle-aged men sat in the row of chairs along the north side of the hall, disciples standing behind them. Since they remained silent, they did not draw much notice.

Seeing Bái Xī Wén's group arrive, the two men who had been arguing quieted down. At Duàn Yì's side, Helan Yue'er softly introduced the people to him.

The imposing man in purple was Ruan Dong's master, Liu Zhiwei, vice sect master of the Golden Cauldron Sect. He was the one who had instructed Zhào Yù to bring Duàn Yì to Golden Cauldron Hall to clear his name.

The man disputing with him was Shi Jian, the Golden Cauldron Sect's other vice sect master. He had little presence; compared with Sect Master Qū Dōng Liú, foremost expert Bái Xī Wén, and Vice Sect Master Liu Zhiwei, he seemed utterly mediocre. Whether in reputation or in the eyes of the sect disciples, he was unworthy of his position.

As for those seated there, they were the Golden Cauldron Sect's three great elders and their disciples, who had come to investigate after learning of Ruan Dong's death.

"Senior Brother Liu, I heard your disciple Ruan Dong is dead. Now you suspect my younger brother Duàn Yì of being the murderer. What evidence do you have?"

Bái Xī Wén stepped forward. Without even glancing at anyone else, he cupped his hands toward Liu Zhiwei and spoke directly, laying the matter bare at once. However, his tone was not particularly pleasant, carrying a somewhat careless air.

"So it is Junior Brother Bái. It seems you already know about this matter. Good. Then let us make it clear.

"Two days ago, Duàn Yì, who had not been at the Golden Cauldron Sect for long, competed in swordsmanship with my disciple Ruan Dong on the arena. After the contest, Ruan Dong was never seen again.

"At the time, we paid it no mind. We thought only that he was too ashamed to face anyone after losing the sword match and had hidden himself away.

"Not until this morning, when someone found Ruan Dong's corpse, did we learn that he had already died on the mountain.

"This matter cannot be separated from your younger brother Duàn Yì. That is why I had Zhào Yù bring him here for questioning. I never said he was definitely the murderer."

Faced with Bái Xī Wén's challenge, Liu Zhiwei's expression shifted slightly. Yet he quickly steadied himself and replied.

"Fine. Let us assume what you say makes sense.

"Then where is Ruan Dong's corpse? When did he die? Where did he die? What was the surrounding environment like? Were there any traces or clues? Have you investigated all of that?

"Based solely on what you just said, you merely have suspicions. I am afraid that is not enough to prove Duàn Yì has any connection to this matter."

Bái Xī Wén was not fooled by him. Instead, he continued questioning him, each point grounded in reason.

At the very least, if they suspected Duàn Yì, they ought to produce corresponding evidence—for instance, that Ruan Dong had died beneath Ice True Qi, or by Songshan Swordplay. Those would be powerful proofs. After all, aside from Bái Xī Wén, only Duàn Yì on the mountain knew those two martial arts.

"Evidence? What evidence could he possibly have?

"Ruan Dong died in a dense forest in the mountains. When I went there, I inspected it carefully. The grass and trees had all been broken and trampled by someone using Internal Energy, clearly from venting emotion. The scene had been ruined, and it was impossible to tell whether anyone else had been present.

"When Ruan Dong died, he had collapsed before a large tree. His forehead had split open, and blood remained on the tree bark. The time of death was roughly after noon two days ago. In other words, he died not long after the match ended.

"Obviously, Ruan Dong's skills were lacking. He lost to Duàn Yì in their sword match, could not bear the shame and fury, and in a moment of despair, smashed himself into a tree and died. It had nothing to do with anyone else.

"Senior Brother Liu, I already told you that this matter has nothing to do with Duàn Yì. There is even less need to drag Junior Brother Bái into it."

Shi Jian spoke like a machine gun going rat-a-tat-tat, clearly a hot-tempered man.

From his words, he evidently believed Ruan Dong had committed suicide rather than been murdered. His earlier dispute with Liu Zhiwei had likely arisen because their opinions differed.

"Suicide? Ruan Dong was my disciple. I know his temperament best. Even if he lost all face and was ridiculed by others, he would at most be despondent for a few days. He would never entertain thoughts of ending his own life.

"On the contrary, I believe someone deliberately laid a smokescreen, making it appear as though Ruan Dong killed himself, when in truth it was meant to divert our attention.

"And although this murderer's identity remains unknown, Duàn Yì, who came to rely on Junior Brother Bái, is highly suspicious.

"Think about it. Before he arrived, our Golden Cauldron Sect was calm as still water, without a single ripple. After he came, in only a few days, he defeated my disciple with swordsmanship and drove my disciple to commit suicide in shame and fury. Do you not find that suspicious?

"I suspect he had practiced martial arts long ago and was a spy sent up the mountain by others. Furthermore, I have evidence proving that Duàn Yì had practiced martial arts before coming to the mountain."

Liu Zhiwei and Shi Jian had argued over this matter for a long while. Neither would yield to the other, and neither wished to remain entangled with the other, so Liu Zhiwei directly laid out his thoughts before Bái Xī Wén.

"In Daming County, Duàn Yì once used a Capturing Hand technique to defeat two household guards from the residence of our sect disciple Zhou Xiong. This proves that he already had a foundation in martial arts. If Junior Brother Bái does not believe me, he may ask Zhou Xiong."

Liu Zhiwei had heard of this from Leng Qingmei. Though he knew little about it, he had drawn this conclusion from his own conjectures. Did he truly think geniuses were so easy to encounter?

In a sense, his words did hold some logic. At least, quite a few people in the hall harbored doubts about how long Duàn Yì had trained in martial arts and where he had come from.

He had only begun learning swordsmanship after coming up the mountain, yet in merely ten days, he had defeated an inner disciple like Ruan Dong, who had trained bitterly for three years, relying solely on swordsmanship. It sounded like something from a tale, difficult to believe.

At the very least, in their impression, even if such people existed, they would surely be direct heirs of major sects or aristocratic families. How could one so easily appear at their side?

Judging by Bái Xī Wén's performance in his youth, even he had fallen far short of Duàn Yì. This was simply too exaggerated.

Moreover, since he already possessed martial arts, why had he deliberately put on such a destitute appearance and come up the mountain to seek Bái Xī Wén's protection?

Clearly, he harbored ill intentions and another purpose.

The three elders and the disciples behind them all looked toward Bái Xī Wén, hoping he could provide a reasonable explanation.

Facing Liu Zhiwei's suspicions, Bái Xī Wén walked back to Duàn Yì's side. He first smiled at Granny An and Eunuch Qiu, then said,

"Fine. You are right. Before Duàn Yì came up the mountain, he had indeed practiced Capturing Hand techniques.

"I taught it to elders in my hometown years ago so they could protect themselves. What is strange about him learning it?

"However, that was only the Minor Capturing Hand. Duàn Yì knew no other martial arts.

"In the Daming County incident, not only was Zhou Xiong involved, but Helan Yue'er here in the hall, as well as Seniors An and Qiu, also took part.

"If you have doubts, you may ask them what level Duàn Yì's martial arts foundation was at then, and what level his martial arts had reached now.

"With the Helan Family's reputation and the credibility of Seniors An and Qiu, Senior Brother Liu surely does not believe I bribed them to deliberately shield Duàn Yì, does he?"

During the past two days, Helan Yue'er, Granny An, Eunuch Qiu, and Duàn Yì had remained together, so they inevitably came into contact with Bái Xī Wén. Naturally, they told him of that earlier connection, which had now become a powerful weapon for Bái Xī Wén to strike back at Liu Zhiwei.